The Hall comes calling

It's still sinking in for Cloquet native Jamie Langenbrunner. Already a revered hockey player from the high school, professional and national team ranks, he will become a hall of fame inductee in December.

"I was up playing golf at Giants Ridge a week ago and, when we drove by the (United States) Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, it kind of hit me that this time next year I will be there," Langenbrunner said from his home in the Twin Cities area.

Langenbrunner has known since July that he will be enshrined. The official announcement came from USA Hockey on Sept. 8. He will be joining a class of five to be honored in Boston on Dec. 6.

"I got the call and I wouldn't say I was teary-eyed, but I did get emotional," Langenbrunner said. "I was shocked, taken aback and I couldn't wait to call my wife and let her know."

Langenbrunner helped lead Cloquet to back-to-back state tournament appearances in the 1991 and 1992 seasons as a sophomore and junior. He was named the Associated Press Minnesota Player of the Year as a junior. Following his junior season, Langenbrunner moved on to play Major Junior Hockey in Canada for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League.

"To this day I still think of all the things I was taught by coach Tom McFarlane while playing in Cloquet," Langenbrunner said. "In fact, throughout my entire playing career, even in the NHL, whenever I lined up for the national anthem I recalled coach McFarlane's rule about not moving your feet and fidgeting and to stay motionless. I tried to do that every single game I played."

Langenbrunner said he learned early on how to deal with the rigors of hockey.

"Mac taught me how to be a player, and how to handle adversity," Langenbrunner said. "He didn't let me get away with things and he held me accountable, which was a good thing. I got to see a lot of great players like Derek (Plante), Cory Millen, and others who went on to great success in college and in the pros."

In 1998, Langenbrunner played for Team USA in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Twelve years later, he played again for Team USA in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. He captained that team to a silver medal in the Olympics.

"By the time 2010 came around, I thought my time was past," Langenbrunner said. "Then I got a call and was invited to the summer camp and I ended up making the team. Then I was named team captain and we had a great run."

Team USA lost in overtime to Canada in the gold medal game. It still stings.

"That is still a hard one to swallow," Langenbrunner said. "I think the team exceeded a lot of people's expectations, but it didn't exceed our player expectations."

He won the Stanley Cup twice, once with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and again in 2003 as a New Jersey Devil. Another former Cloquet great, Derek Plante, played with Langenbrunner on the 1999 Stanley Cup Champion Dallas Stars team. The pair brought the cup to Cloquet.

"I was just young enough that when Derek played high school hockey in Cloquet I didn't play with him," Langenbrunner said. "I looked up to him, so it was really a fun season when we won the Cup together."

Wrapped around the Olympic and Stanley Cup appearances was an 18-year NHL career. Langenbrunner was team captain on a number of those teams.

"I played with a lot of great players who taught me how to play the game the right way," Langenbrunner said. "Dallas drafted me, and I got my start there, and I owe a lot to that organization."

The 2023 Hall of Fame class also includes NHL veteran Dustin Brown, Olympic gold medalist Katie King Crowley, NHL referee Brian Murphy and executive Brian Burke.

Langenbrunner is an assistant general manager for the Boston Bruins, a bit of kismet since the ceremony will take place there in December.

"It is weird how things all played out," Langenbrunner said. "My son Mason plays at Harvard and is right in Boston,

so the whole family will be able to be at the

ceremony."

Langenbrunner said he will continue to try and help the Boston Bruins build a roster that can win a championship. The Bruins set an NHL record for most wins and points in a season with a record of 65-12 and 135 points. The team was upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Florida Panthers, which ended up in the Stanley Cup finals.

"We've been knocking at the door and we like our team," Langenbrunner said. "We're working hard to put things together so we can get back to the finals and bring home a Stanley Cup."

*****

A hockey life

Jamie Langenbrunner is in his ninth season in the Boston Bruins organization and his second as assistant general manager of player personnel after four years as director of player development and player personnel advisor. He joined the team’s hockey operations department on Sept. 11, 2015, working on the development of players and prospects throughout the Bruins system.

He came to the Bruins following a 20-year professional playing career in the Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues organizations. Drafted in the second round, 35th overall, by the Stars in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, he split his first two pro seasons between Dallas and its IHL affiliates before breaking into the NHL to stay in 1996. He had career NHL totals of 243 goals and 420 assists for 663 points with 837 penalty minutes in 1,109 career regular season games. He twice won Stanley Cup championships, with Dallas in 1999 and New Jersey in 2003. He officially retired after the 2012 season with the St. Louis Blues.

His son, Mason, was selected by the Bruins in 2020 as their third pick in the NHL Entry Draft. Mason plays for Harvard after playing high school hockey in Cloquet and Eden Prairie.

Langenbrunner claimed his second Stanley Cup during his first season with New Jersey in 2003 and led the NHL with 18 playoff points. Throughout his career, he competed in 146 career playoff games and recorded 87 points.

Langenbrunner played for Team USA at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and in 2010 captained the team to a silver medal at the 2010 games in Vancouver. Langenbrunner has also donned the red, white and blue at two IIHF World Junior Championships (1994, 1995) and at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.